Prayer for Deliverance from Secret Enemies.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
64 Hear my voice, O God, in my [a]complaint;
Preserve my life from dread of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the secret counsel of evildoers,
From the tumult of those who do iniquity,
3 Who have sharpened their tongue like a sword.
They aimed bitter speech as their arrow,
4 To shoot [b]from concealment at the blameless;
Suddenly they shoot at him, and do not fear.
5 They [c]hold fast to themselves an evil purpose;
They [d]talk of laying snares secretly;
They say, “Who can see them?”
6 They [e]devise injustices, saying,
“We are [f]ready with a well-conceived plot”;
For the [g]inward thought and the heart of a man are [h]deep.7 But God [i]will shoot at them with an arrow;
Suddenly [j]they will be wounded.
8 So [k]they [l]will make him stumble;
Their own tongue is against them;
All who see them will shake the head.
9 Then all men [m]will fear,
And they [n]will declare the work of God,
And [o]will consider [p]what He has done.
10 The righteous man will be glad in the Lord and will take refuge in Him;
And all the upright in heart will glory.
This psalm speaks of evildoers, who make secret plans, and try to hide their plots from others. They think that they can do whatever they want, and no one will find out. Over and over again we see past misdeeds come back to haunt people. Yet, too often those who would call themselves “righteous” are guilty of the same foolishness.
We either try to hide our disobedience, or we excuse it by saying it doesn’t hurt anyone else. Of course, who can hide from God? Jonah found full well the folly of that exercise when he was thrown overboard in the middle of the sea. Even more, he found out that God saw him in the depths when a fish was sent to rescue him.
As for the damage of our sin, certainly we hurt ourselves just as we see in verse 8 where one’s own tongue is a stumbling block. Anyone who sees it will “shake the head”. But far worse are the consequences we cannot foresee, not only to ourselves, but in the lives of those we love. God only knows the damage we do, and still he calls to us, telling us to take refuge in Him.
So when you are tempted to do what you know is wrong, hold on tight, don’t let go of God and let him be your refuge. Then when your life is under scrutiny, there will be no shame, no “skeletons” to worry about, only “glory” in your heart. Put away the darkness that seeks to pull you in, and let God shine through you instead. Let them “see your good works, that they may glorify your Father who is in heaven.”